Thursday, December 31, 2009

When we think back on our Omaha 2009 Christmas, I'm sure that we will always remember it as the "Year of the Snow." There was plenty of white when we arrived, and it just kept falling!Love the drifts.Heave!Ho!Heave!(And so on and so forth.)

Of course, the snow brought lots of opportunities to play along with the work. Here are some pictures of Brooklyn and Papa Kay venturing out to create a snowman.The stand-off.Don't eat the nose!Completed masterpieces.

Fortunately, Callie, Adam, and Zoe made it in without trouble from Puyallup, Washington, despite Callie's patchy history with airline delays. They arrived just in time to join us for a Christmas concert with the Omaha Symphony at the Holland theater. I was a little worried that the kids might not behave, but the performance was delightful--fun and family-friendly. Great-Grandpa Wells (or Grandpa Great, as the kids like to call him) and Elaine likewise made it safely from Sarasota, Florida. We had a great time celebrating on Christmas eve by enacting the Nativity story.Both Grandpa and Elaine imparted of their royal sagesse in their roles of wisefolk. (The "Twilight" flair to the crowns come compliments of Burger King.) Grandpa always was excellent at playing the wise guy. ;)Adam did an outstanding job shepherding Zoe, who graced us with her starring role as Rudolph.Kara used Eli as a convenient excuse to avoid dressing up...Better yet, since Kara's hands were full, Callie took over Kara's customary role as pianist. I was delighted to pass on the torch to my oh-so-talented sis.What a happy angel!Beautiful Brooklyn...oops, I mean Mary.The manger scene: our baby boy made it feel so complete.Christmas Eve was doubly special this year because of this fabulous guy (the one in the middle):Adam's birthday falls on the 24th of December--how fun is that! And what better way to celebrate than with a Wall-E cheesecake! (Sorry for the photo quality--I think one of the girls snapped the picture.)Proud bearer of the "Bah Humbug" flag, my father likes to complain about how much work it takes to decorate for Christmas. The holidays just wouldn't be the same, however, without his remarkable Dickens Village display.Our Tannenbaum enjoys a moment of quiet glory on Christmas Eve. In fact, the magic is so special that ghosts of Jason appear!While Grandpa and Elaine successfully battled the snow on Christmas Eve, by Christmas morning the snow storm was so intense that they got barricaded into their hotel several miles away from our house. When you have little kids in the house, however, the festivities simply can't wait!The girls enjoy a marvelous gift from Santa--a play kitchen.Three generations of Christmas joy.Santa looks an awful lot like Zoe the pug this year.Talia tries out her new sleeping bag. Snug as bug in a rug! Or as Brooklyn would say, Snug as a bug in a hug. :)Callie tackles Mount Ornament. Betcha didn't even notice the puppy beneath all the fun ornaments!Eli models the cutest hat ever.Talia and Brooklyn show off the beautiful new towels that NomiAnn made for them.While not pictured, NomiAnn also made a personalized hoody towel for their canine cousin. Talk about love!While Christmas morning was enjoyable, the party really started once Great-Grandpa Wells and Elaine finally arrived. We were starting to worry they might not get dug out until Spring!The El's meet: Eli and Elaine.The onesie says it all: Who needs Santa when I have Grandma!Of course, we love our grandpas too.And we love our aunts.And everyone else, too.A photo with all the great-grandchildren--priceless.

As fun as Christmas was (and trust me, it was loads of fun), one of the best parts about this holiday season was that we didn't have to rush off anywhere anytime soon. In fact, given all the wintery weather, you couldn't go anywhere even if you wanted to! We had three leisurely weeks in Nebraska to simply relax and enjoy each others company.

Here are some photos chronicling a typical Omaha day in the life of Talia: Breakfast.More breakfast. (What can I say--like father, like daughter.) :)Snuggle time with the three best imaginable things in the entire world: a puppy, your brother, and your thumb.And to top it all off, a nap.Of course, Talia wasn't the only one who enjoyed dozing.Our naps were well-earned, however, given all the energy spent romping in the snow.What's going on here??We dreamed of a white Christmas--and got one!Even the snowmen look snowy.Covered in drifts, our home looks as cozy as a European ski chalet.A winter wonderland?Wunderbar!Merry Christmas!